The concentration of coronavirus in wastewater has increased, but the level remains low. Even though many may have put the coronavirus epidemic behind them, the disease still lingers in the Danish population. According to the latest update from the State Serum Institute (SSI), there has been a significant increase in the concentration of coronavirus in wastewater in the past week. However, this is from a very low starting point.
Thomas Benfield, a professor and senior physician at Amager and Hvidovre Hospital, explains that the recent increase in infections can be attributed to the many social events taking place during the summer. “The many festivals and the European Football Championship provide a breeding ground for the little infection that is in society,” he says. Although the Euro Cup is being played in Germany, there are many big screen events happening around Denmark, contributing to the spread of the virus.
TV 2 reports that the number of confirmed cases has also increased this week. Bolette Søborg, a senior physician and section leader at SSI, expects this increase to continue. “Our expectation is that the number will continue to rise, but it will not come close to the infection situation we see in winter,” she states.
SSI monitors the spread of infections by analyzing wastewater samples, which provides an overview of the infection situation even if citizens have not necessarily been tested by a doctor. Data from wastewater monitoring over the past several months shows that infections typically reach their highest levels in the winter months. Last year, the concentration of coronavirus in wastewater began to rise around July, but this year it seems to have happened a month earlier.
Part of the explanation for this earlier increase may be that it has been some time since people were vaccinated, meaning immunity is decreasing. The new variants of coronavirus, called KP.2 and KP.3, are among the most contagious so far, but they are not as dangerous as previous variants. Senior physician Thomas Benfield explains that mutations often make viruses more contagious but less severe. “In evolution, the goal is to infect as many as possible. So the virus strains that are less dangerous, and just keep the infected person alive for a long time to infect many, are the ones that are selected along the way,” he says.